Tips and tricks from 50 years of loving Yosemite

Updated 8:51 pm, Saturday, June 21, 2014

Visitors enjoy the views against the backdrop of Yosemite Falls, at Yosemite National Park, on Saturday May 12, 2012

Visitors enjoy the views against the backdrop of Yosemite Falls, at Yosemite National Park, on Saturday May 12, 2012

Photo: Michael Macor / The Chronicle

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Unusual view of Half Dome on the hike from Glacier point to Happy Isles.

Unusual view of Half Dome on the hike from Glacier point to Happy Isles.

Photo: John Flinn, Special To The Chronicle

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Rafters drift along the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, on Friday May 11, 2012.

Rafters drift along the Merced River in Yosemite National Park, on Friday May 11, 2012.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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A visitor from Saudi Arabia snaps a selfie with Yosemite's landmarks as a backgrop.

A visitor from Saudi Arabia snaps a selfie with Yosemite's landmarks as a backgrop.

Photo: John Flinn, Special To The Chronicle

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El Capitan aglow in the late afternoon sun at Yosemite National Park, on Friday May 11, 2012.

El Capitan aglow in the late afternoon sun at Yosemite National Park, on Friday May 11, 2012.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Rafters drift along the lazy Merced River in Yosemite National Park. This month marks 150 years since the grant that created the park.

Rafters drift along the lazy Merced River in Yosemite National Park. This month marks 150 years since the grant that created the park.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Participants in a photo workshop wait for a rainbow to appear at Bridalveil Fall. The Ansel Adams Gallery offers free camera walks four mornings per week.

Participants in a photo workshop wait for a rainbow to appear at Bridalveil Fall. The Ansel Adams Gallery offers free camera walks four mornings per week.

Photo: John Flinn, Special To The Chronicle

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Follow the arrow to the Pohono Trail and enjoy some of Yosemite's best viewpoints without the Glacier Point crowds.

Follow the arrow to the Pohono Trail and enjoy some of Yosemite's best viewpoints without the Glacier Point crowds.

Photo: John Flinn, Special To The Chronicle

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Tourists scamper on the rocks at the base of Yosemite Falls.

Tourists scamper on the rocks at the base of Yosemite Falls.

Photo: John Flinn, Special To The Chronicle

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Tips and tricks from 50 years of loving Yosemite

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"OK," said my dad, "open your eyes."

He'd made me keep them shut as we drove up a mountain road and turned into a parking lot. I was 7 years old.

I blinked in astonishment and wonder. It was my first glimpse of Yosemite Valley, spread out before me in a perfect tableau: El Capitan, standing monolithic and imposing; Bridalveil Fall, its plume feathered by a summer breeze; and Half Dome presiding regally in the distance.

It was the best present I've ever gotten. I've been back more than 100 times. I've walked its trails, climbed its walls, bedded down on its fragrant pine needles. I've dodged Yosemite's lightning bolts, lost my dinner to pilfering bears and spent more time than I care to remember looking for someplace to park my car.

So this summer marks a big occasion for me as well as for Yosemite: It's the 150th anniversary of the park's creation and the 50th anniversary of my first visit.

It's the travel destination I know far, far better than any other, and this is as good a time as any to try to pass on some of it. What follows is a biased, incomplete, idiosyncratic sampling of what I've learned about Yosemite over the last five decades.

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2 favorite campsites

Most campsites in Yosemite Valley are too deep in the woods to afford good views. But there are exceptions. My two favorites:

-- Campsite No. 38 in Lower Pines boasts a wide-open, Ansel-Adams-eat-your-heart-out backdrop of Half Dome, and is perched on the banks of the Merced River. It has very little shade, though, and can get hot in summer. Best for spring and fall.

-- Campsite No. 504 in North Pines sits at the confluence of the Merced River and Tenaya Creek, with lots of room, a private beach, a perfectly framed view of Yosemite Falls and plenty of shade. Best in the heat of summer.

3 places where you'll hardly see anybody

The secret to Yosemite solitude: For every step you take away from the pavement, the mobs diminish exponentially. Here are three spots where I go to do this:

-- Valley Loop Trail: This pancake-flat path hugs the base of the cliffs for 13 miles around the valley, and you'll have much of it all to yourself. Ranger Scott Gediman's favorite stroll is east from Pohono Bridge past Bridalveil Fall to the base of Cathedral Rocks. "Walk for two minutes," he says, "and you'll be alone in one of the grandest places anywhere."

-- Tenaya Creek Trail: After slogging up the 1.2-mile road from the stables, most visitors are content to call it a day at Mirror Lake. You should keep going. The mostly flat trail follows burbling Tenaya Creek through a fragrant forest of incense cedar and ponderosa pine directly beneath the watchful face of Half Dome. A rockslide off Ahwiyah Point that blocked part of the trail has been cleared.

-- Pohono Trail: Glacier Point is usually teeming with people, but you leave them behind as soon as you set out on the Pohono Trail along the south rim of Yosemite Valley. You'll have a series of overlooks revealing startlingly fresh perspectives on El Capitan, Bridalveil Fall and other familiar landmarks mostly to yourself.

Showcase hike that's mostly downhill

Ride the bus from Yosemite Lodge to Glacier Point (departs at 8:30 a.m.; one-way, $25; reservations strongly recommended) and hike back to the valley via Nevada and Vernal falls. I like to take first-time visitors on this one. It's a rewarding hike, with a close-up view of the "back" side of Half Dome, and except for the short stretch between Illilouette Creek and Nevada Fall, it's pretty much all downhill. Allow most of the day.

Best place for alfresco dining on a warm evening

The Pizza Desk at Curry Village. It opens at noon on weekends and at 5 p.m. weekdays. Get in line 10 minutes before it opens; the line gets epic after that. There's a large selection of Sierra-brewed ales on tap at the adjoining bar. Word to the wise: Don't leave your pizza unattended even for a second unless you want to share it with a squirrel.

So you really want to see a bear

First thing to remember: The bears want your food, not you. No one has ever been killed or seriously injured by a black bear in Yosemite. Store your food properly, don't approach the bear and you'll be fine.

The old bear-viewing standbys - the dump, the High Sierra Camps, Lyell Canyon and Little Yosemite Valley - don't get nearly as much ursine action these days due to greatly improved food-storage practices.

These days the most reliable places to see bears are in the campgrounds and Curry Village parking lot at night as they try to scavenge dinner. But even that's become a tough meal ticket. Last year was the first in decades that bears didn't succeed at breaking into a single car. They're returning to the wilderness for their traditional diet of berries and acorns. Yes, Yosemite's bears are going vegan.

How to score a hotel room or tent cabin when everything is booked solid

Phone the reservation line - (801) 559-4884 - exactly one week before you want to come. Because of the seven-day cancellation policy, rooms often open up then.

How to reserve the campsite you want

It's possible, but it takes planning, proper timing and an accurate clock.

Here's how it works: On the 15th of each month, at precisely 7 a.m. Pacific time, a block of campsites becomes available four to five months in the future. For example, on Feb. 15 you can make reservations for June 15 through July 14.

Theoretically you can book your site either on the Web ( www.recreation.gov) or on the phone at (877) 444-6777, but in my experience the latter almost never works.

Early on the morning of the 15th, make sure your computer clock is set exactly to the correct time. (You can find this at www.time.gov.)

A few minutes before 7 a.m., go to the booking site, select your campsite, fill out the form, and have your finger poised and ready to strike the "Reserve Now" button the very second the clock strikes 7 a.m.

OK, so that didn't work - here's how to score a site without a reservation

Stay just outside the park (a number of U.S. Forest Service campgrounds line highways 120 and 140), get up very early and be first in line at the Valley Campground Office in the Curry Village day-use parking area when it opens at 8 a.m. Often a few campsites open up due to no-shows.

Incidentally, six of the Yosemite campgrounds outside the valley are first-come, first-served. Show up after breakfast when campers are packing up and you can often get a site.

How to spot climbers on El Capitan

Get yourself to El Capitan Meadow (take North Side Drive toward the park exits; immediately after a spur loops back toward Yosemite Village, you'll see cars parked on the left and often people in lawn chairs with spotting scopes.)

The most popular climbing route on El Capitan, called "The Nose," goes more or less straight up the prow directly before you, midway between a large, heart-shaped indentation and a patch of dark rock that looks like a map of North America.

Look for the "Great Roof," a prominent overhang creating a big shadow about three-quarters of the way up. You can often spot climbers directly above or below it. Keep an eye out for their haul bags, the brightly colored duffels that trail behind them, then follow the rope up to the climbers themselves.

Climbers typically take three or four days to reach the top. The speed record is less than 2 1/2 hours.

Best place to watch the sunset or moonrise

Glacier Point. At sunset, Half Dome and the peaks of the High Sierra turn pink and purple with alpenglow. And when the moon comes up, all that glacier-polished granite gives off an ethereal sheen.

How to enjoy one of the best parts of camping without, well, camping

Drop into the Yosemite Lodge Gift Shop and buy a "S'mores kit"- marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate and a long stick - for $9.25. You can prepare your flaming, gooey treats over the indoor fire pit next door at the Mountain Room Lounge. The fire is usually roaring in fall, winter and early spring.

A harrowing shortcut to save you 15 minutes of carsickness

Just past Lake Don Pedro on Highway 120, keep an eye out for a sign announcing the town of Moccasin. A few feet beyond that is the turnoff for Old Priest Grade Road. It's 2.7 miles and shaves off 10 miles of winding mountain road on which you always seem stuck behind a big rig with its hazard lights on.

Warning: The shortcut is unrelentingly steep and there are no guardrails. Trailers and motor homes are banned, and I wouldn't even do it in a camper van. On the way down, the ever-present aroma of carbonized asbestos should remind you to keep it in low gear and use your brakes sparingly.

The very best place to get married

If you're the sort of couple who register for wedding gifts at REI, you've probably fantasized about tying the knot in Yosemite.

The obvious venue - and it's a good one - is the chapel in Yosemite Valley, which commands a gorgeous location opposite Yosemite Falls.

But there's an even better spot: the small amphitheater at Glacier Point. You'll exchange vows with an incomparable backdrop of Half Dome, Nevada Fall and the snow-kissed peaks of the High Sierra - unquestionably one of the finest mountain vistas in the world.

-- Waterfall tour: Hour-long guided tours of Lower Yosemite Fall are available in English and Spanish from June through August, conditions permitting.

-- Historic Ahwahnee tour: A one-hour tour through the magnificent halls, great rooms and grounds of one of the grandest of all national park lodges. Available year-round. Reservations must be made with concierge desk, (209) 372-1426.

-- For the kids: Ranger Ned's Big Adventure, an "interactive and educational children's play" is presented at the Curry Village Amphitheater twice daily, five times a week May through September.

-- Music in Wawona: Pianist and singer Tom Bopp performs vintage songs and stories most evenings in the Wawona Hotel Parlor, April through December.

The best rooms at the Ahwahnee

Staying at the Ahwahnee Hotel is definitely a splurge. If you're going to shell out that kind of money, it's worth upgrading to a "featured" room. They've got balconies (often shared) and the best views, and will cost you another $50.

2 favorite ski tours

-- One-day - Dewey Point: From Badger Pass, follow the unplowed Glacier Point Road for a mile to Summit Meadow, then take the Meadow Trail for 2.5 miles to Dewey Point. There are some sharp ups and downs, and the trip is not for rank beginners, but the reward is an astonishing viewpoint on the rim of Yosemite Valley, 3,300 feet above the floor and directly across from El Capitan.

-- Overnight - Ostrander Hut: For strong intermediate skiers, the 10.5-mile journey from Badger Pass to Ostrander Hut is a classic. It's a long, tiring day, but you'll bed down in a cozy stone cabin perched beside a frozen lake at 8,500 feet. At dinnertime there's a spirited competition among groups to produce the most sumptuous movable feast.

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